Tomb Raider Director Explains How 3D Level Design Has Evolved Over 30 Years

Tomb Raider Game Director Raul Siqueira discusses 30 years of 3D level design, preserving isolation, evolving camera technology, and Legacy of Atlantis’ optional guidance systems. When the original Tomb Raider arrived in 1996, fully three-dimensional action-adventure games were still establishing their fundamental rules. Its environments were not simply backdrops or corridors connecting encounters. Players had to study their surroundings, understand how spaces connected, judge distances, and identify routes through architecture that initially appeared impassable. That was over 30 years ago.